Searching for their first Premier League win of 2025, Wolves are back at Molineux on Saturday evening as Aston Villa make the short trip across the West Midlands, and wolves.co.uk has previewed the latest derby.
1 | Roll Call
Vitor Pereira confirmed Jorge Strand Larsen will miss the Villa fixture with a muscle injury he picked up against Arsenal. The striker has featured in every Premier League game this season, so Pereira must look inside his squad for other options. Joao Gomes will also be absent, having picked up two yellow cards in the Arsenal defeat. Toti returned to the bench against the Gunners, following five matches out, so the head coach will assess the defender too. While Boubacar Traore has returned to fitness recently, playing twice for the under-21s, the midfielder now has the flu. Yerson Mosquera, Enso Gonzalez and Sasa Kalajdzic remain long-term injuries.
Villa manager Unai Emery will be without defensive duo Matty Cash and Tyrone Mings for the trip to Molineux. Cash was injured against Celtic in midweek, and Mings against West Ham United last weekend, and neither will be available. Villa will also be without Pau Torres with an ankle injury, Amadou Onana with a thigh problem and Ross Barkley with a calf issue.
2 | The Stat Pack
Goals
- Matheus Cunha | 10
- Ollie Watkins | 11
Assists
- Goncalo Guedes | 5
- Ollie Watkins | 9
Biggest win
- Leicester City 0-3 Wolves | December 2024
- Young Boys 0-3 Aston Villa | September 2024
Cards
- Joao Gomes | 7
- Morgan Rogers | 9
Clean sheets
- Jose Sa | 3
- Emi Martinez | 7
Agbadou impresses 👊 pic.twitter.com/2DhCbS75OX
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 27, 2025
3 | Journey to Saturday
The Old Gold go into Saturday’s game off the back of four consecutive defeats in the Premier League albeit against four of the current top six in the standings. Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Chelsea and most recently Arsenal have all taken the full points from Pereira’s side in recent outings, but Wolves still have confidence that a good performance against their rivals from across the West Midlands will help to stop the winless run. Last time out against the Gunners, Wolves fell agonisingly close to getting at least a point from the contest, so will believe they have what it takes under the Molineux lights on Saturday evening.
Aston Villa arrive at Molineux off the back of a Champions League victory over Celtic on Wednesday evening, which saw Morgan Rogers claim a hat-trick – with the first two goals coming in the opening five minutes. Despite a loss away at Monaco 10 days ago, the win over the Scottish side secured Villa’s spot in the last eight of the competition. Since the start of 2025, Villa have also made it into the fourth round of the FA Cup thanks to a win over West Ham United, setting up a tie with Tottenham Hotspur, but they have drawn their last two in the Premier League, away at Arsenal as well as at home against West Ham last weekend.
4 | Derby double sees Wolves go top
The Nuno Espirito Santo era at Molineux truly got up and running with a thrilling win over Aston Villa under the Molineux lights back in October 2017. A tremendous display against the Villans in front of the TV cameras saw Diogo Jota drive home the opener high into the net. Wolves were on course to move top of the Championship and that position was confirmed on 71 minutes when Leo Bonatini smashed home a second from a tight angle. Once the campaign hit November, Nuno’s side wouldn’t be dislodged from the summit again, securing Premier League promotion and the second tier title for a fourth time in the club’s history.
Wolves | Ruddy, Doherty, Douglas, Miranda, Batth, Coady, Cavaleiro (Marshall 73), Jota, Neves (N’Diaye 79), Saiss, Costa (Bonatini 45).
Aston Villa | Johnstone, Chester, Whelan, Snodgrass, Hourihane, Hutton, Kodjia (O’Hare 79), Terry, Elmohamady, Adomah (Onomah 73), Davis (Hogan 64).
